Devoted to Good Works

Devoted to Good Works

Rob Lourcey

Devoted to good works

Titus 3:1-15

Main Idea: The grace of God saves us and empowers us for good works.

I. Adorning the Gospel in the World (3:1-2)

A. Ready for Good Works

Matthew 11:29: Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

B. Who We Were and What God Has Done

Until sin be bitter, Christ will not be sweet
~ Thomas Watson

We must plumb the depths of our own heart before we can grasp the height of God’s love.
~ Tim Chester

Psalm 14:1a: The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

II. Being fruitful and multiplying in grace (3:9-15)

A. Pruning

Ephesians 4:1-3: I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Paul does not say God condemns such a person. Rather, one who tries to justify himself by besting others (causing foolish controversies), presuming on his background or family status (debating genealogies), or by wrangling holiness from legal strictures (causing quarrels about the law) instead cuts himself off from his only hope of justification—grace. And thus he is ‘self-condemned.
~ Brian Chapell

B. Harvesting and Planting

Thus doctrine inspires duty, and duty adorns doctrine. Doctrine and duty are married; they must not be divorced.
~ John Stott

Between Grace and Glory

Between Grace and Glory

Brandon Curriston

 Between Grace and Glory

Titus 2:11-15

Main Idea: The gospel of Jesus meets us with grace and compels us toward glory with transformational hope. 

I. God’s Grace (2:11-12)

Titus 2:11-12: For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,  training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

“When the apostle uses the same word to describe the coming of grace, he so intertwines who Christ is with what Christ provides that the two become inseparable in our consideration. Grace is not some abstract doctrine or theological construct. Grace comes as Christ does. Grace is as personal as he is. In fact, Christ is grace. The unmerited favor of God is what Jesus is about, but it is also who he is. We should thus see grace as a personal action by a personal God who saved us from our helpless condition out of pure love.” 
~ Bryan Chapell 

Revelation 2:5 “Behold, I am making all things new” 

Romans 8:29 - “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son”

1 John 3:2 “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

“It’s true that the church is a hospital for sinners. But the point of a hospital is for the sick to get well. So, yes, the church is a hospital for sinners, but it is also a school for saints, a place where we experience progress on the journey toward the summit of Christlikeness.” 
~ Trevin Wax, The Thrill of Orthodoxy

II. God’s Glory (2:13-15)

Titus 2:13-15: waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,  who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you. 

“The gospel is not for the pure and healthy, but for the losers, the failed and flailing, the fallen and falling. The path to the mountaintop of Christlike virtue is a path of penitence. The victorious Christian life isn't the sinless life; it's the repentant life.” 
~ Trevin Wax, The Thrill of Orthodoxy

1 Corinthians 15:10 by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

“For mere improvement is not redemption, though redemption always improves people even here and now and will, in the end, improve them to a degree we cannot yet imagine. God became man to turn creatures into sons: not simply to produce better men of the old kind but to produce a new kind of man. It is not like teaching a horse to jump better and better but like turning a horse into a winged creature. Of course, once it has got its wings, it will soar over fences which could never have been jumped and thus beat the natural horse at its own game. But there may be a period, while the wings are just beginning to grow, when it cannot do so: and at that stage the lumps on the shoulders - no one could tell by looking at them that they are going to be wings - may even give it an awkward appearance.” 
~ C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Adorning the Gospel Together

Adorning the Gospel Together

Ian Thomas

adorning the gospel together

Titus 2:1-10

Main Idea: We adorn the beauty of the gospel by living with ordinary faithfulness in every season together.

I. The Priorities of Ministry (2:1, 7-8)

In his role as pastor/elder, Titus must be a ‘model’ (prototype) of sound doctrine and good works, so that the church is built up (Eph. 4:11-12) and opponents are silenced (2:8).

Apart from Christian theology, we don’t know what the Christian life should look like. If we believe the Christian life should be characterized by hospitality, forgiveness, love, mercy, and faith, we need Christian doctrine to fill those words with Christian meaning. Without doctrine, we’re left with mere sentiment.

~ Trevin Wax, The Thrill of Orthodoxy

II. The Household of Faith (2:2-6, 9-10)

A. Older Men (2:2)

Ecclesiastes 7:10: Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.

B. Older Women (2:3)

C. Younger Women (2:4-5)

It would not be legitimate to base on this word either a stay-at-home stereotype for all women, or a prohibition of wives being also professional women. What is rather affirmed is that if a woman accepts the vocation of marriage, and has a husband and children, she will love and not neglect them… What he is opposing is not a wife’s pursuit of a profession, but ‘the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. (1 Tim. 5:13)

~ John Stott, The Message of 1 Timothy & Titus

D. Younger Men (2:6)

E. Bondservants (2:9-10)

While we cannot defend the indolence or cowardice of two further Christian centuries which saw this social evil but failed to eradicate it, we can at the same time rejoice that the gospel immediately began even in the first century to undermine the institution; it lit a fuse which at long last led to the explosion which destroyed it.

~ John Stott, The Message of Ephesians 

Colossians 3:23–24: Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,  knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

Conclusion: Adorning the Beauty of the Gospel (2:10b)

Making the World a Better Place

Making the World a Better Place

Pat Kappenman

Making the world a better place

Titus 1:7-2:1

Main Idea: Every Christian is called to strategically counteract error, especially those who nurture others.

I. Why is this so important?

The simple answer is that false ideas and bad behavior do not make the world a better place. They are like a cancer that invades a person’s life then metastasizes to their family, their neighborhood, and eventually their whole culture. If you know anything about cancer, it is an apt metaphor to the damage false ideas and bad behavior bring into the world. Cancer never makes things better. It must be counteracted.

II. How are we called to do it?

The right and simple answer here is: STRATEGICALLY. By this we mean thoughtfully, intentionally, tactfully. Keep in mind that Jesus’ objective for the moral wasteland that is Crete is to reclaim it for Himself, redeem its inhabitants to Himself, and release it to flourish and prosper under His generous rule. He wants to make Crete a better place. Central to doing that is addressing the bad behavior and false ideas that are currently
destroying Crete and its inhabitants

Holding firm to the word of God:

Confronting error strategically with a view to making the world a better place requires a reference point. Something must exist that differentiates error from truth, cancer from healthy tissue. Something must paint a compelling vision of what “better” looks like that is more than merely my opinion versus yours. And whatever that reference point is, we must track to it as we would to True North were we lost in a trackless wilderness. “Holding firm to the faithful Word” is being convinced that there is such a thing as True North and organizing all our ideas and actions into alignment and agreement with it.

Re-orient our expectations into alignment with the gospel and the “last days.”

Titus 2:11-14: For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Putting into Order

Putting into Order

Ian Thomas

Putting into Order

Titus 1:1-9

Main Idea: God’s church is rightly ordered when we hold to sound doctrine, pursue godliness, and follow exemplary leadership.

I. Eternal Gospel Hope (1:1-4)

Paul’s ministry as a servant and an apostle was for the sake of the “faith of the elect.” This faith is marked by two components, a “knowledge of the truth” that “accords with godliness.” 

We can have confidence in the hope of eternal life because of:

1. God’s Promise (“...promised before the ages began”)

2. God’s Character (“God, who never lies…” cf. Num. 23:19)
   
   “This is very comforting to the Christian, that whatever God has said in the divine purpose is never changed. The decrees of God were not written upon sand, but upon the eternal brass of his unchangeable nature.”
   ~ Charles Spurgeon, “What God Cannot Do!”

3. God’s Word (“at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching…”) 

2 Timothy 4:1–5: I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

II. Exemplary Gospel Leadership

Titus must “put what remained into order” by appointing elders (or pastors) who are “above reproach” in:

1. Marriage & Family (1:6; cf. 1 Tim. 3:5)

2. Character & Conduct (1:7-8)

3. Doctrine & Instruction (1:9; cf. 1 Tim. 4:16)

“[Pastors] have the responsibility of explaining what God has said in his Word, declaring what God has done in his Son, and applying this message to the hearts of people.”
~ Tony Merida, The Faithful Church Planter 

“The pastor ought to have two voices: one, for gathering the sheep; and another, for warding off and driving away wolves and thieves. The Scripture supplies him with the means of doing both; for he who is deeply skilled in it will be able both to govern those who are teachable, and to refute the enemies of the truth.”
~ John Calvin

Adorn the Gospel

Adorn the Gosepl

Pat Kappenman

Adorn the Gospel

Titus 2:9-3:11

Main idea: The citizens of Jesus’ kingdom are to adorn the gospel by practicing “gospel civility” in all situations

In Titus 2:9-3:11, Paul explains WHAT gospel civility looks like, WHY it matters, and HOW FAR it extends. 

First, what does  “GOSPEL CIVILITY” look like?

“Gospel civility” speaks to our demeanor as well as our behavior. It gets at the attitude, or spirit, behind our actions that makes them align with the gospel. It is not enough to hold the right positions, but hold them with a wrong posture.  What we adhere to doctrinally loses its power and appeal when we fail to practice Jesus’ central command to love our neighbor. 

As such, “Gospel civility” compels us to be HUMBLE, to be REFRESHING, and to be WISE as we live out the specific behaviors the gospel calls us into.  

It is safe for us to assume that wherever Paul went to establish the gospel, he established the priority of the mindset he spells out in Philippians 2. It is a citizen mindset built on HUMILITY.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Php 2:3-8)

“Gospel civility” also calls us to be REFRESHING to those amongst whom God has placed us.

This is exactly the same ethic Peter endorses in his first letter. To people suffering under the cruel hand of Roman persecution, he writes:

• Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. For“Whoever desires to love life and see good days,let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit;

let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer.

But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? (1 Pet 3:9-13) 

“Gospel civility” approaches life’s realities with WISDOM. Throughout Scripture, the WISE person is that one who understands and does the best thing in any given situation. In things governed by clear and accepted rules, they follow the rules. In that larger domain of life where there are no clear and accepted rules, they know how to choose the better options, the options that bless and build up, and they choose them consistently. 

Paul may actually be thinking of Jesus' words to His disciple in Matthew 10, when He sent them out to announce the good news of the Kingdom in the Israeli villages.

• Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. (Matt 10:16)

Gospel civility is that gospel-driven demeanor that inspires gospel-aligned behavior in the presence of the watching world. It aspires to the HUMILITY of Christ, seeking to REFRESH as He did, and adapts to situational realites with WISDOM.

WHY is Paul so urgent to have Titus promote “gospel civility” among the believers in Crete? 

The answer rests in one word that appears twice in the passage we read. Since the word is so easily read right over, it is important to highlight it.  It's the word “for” which appears as the first word in Titus 2:11 and then again in Titus 3:3.

• In both cases, Paul has just outlined the set of behaviors that arise out of “gospel civility”. 

• In both cases, the rationale upon which Paul builds his case for “gospel civility” is something that happened in the past, not something that might happen in the future.

• The reason we are to display “gospel civility” in every situation is not so that we can bring in the kingdom of God by building a better system than the rest, but rather so that we might adorn the gospel that announces that the kingdom has already arrived in Jesus.

The people of Jesus are to display “gospel civility” because the gospel is the truest truth there is. Adorning the gospel with our lives is the best possible thing we can do. It is how we serve as “salt” and “light” in the world. Whether we live or die for doing it is simply irrelevant. Whether we make a difference for the better or whether we vanish into the vast number of saints who lived and died hoping in Jesus, such things are not ours to decide. It is the gospel that must be adorned, not us.

HOW FAR does gospel civility extend in our lives as Christ followers? 

• There is no situation or circumstance that exempts us from the gospel civility mandate. 

• There are no durational limits either. There is no point in the distress of our situation at which we are allowed to set aside gospel civility in favor of any other alternatives.

Conclusion

In the first sermon of this series, Ian reminded us that “Christ has commissioned us as his ambassadors, bearing witness to the Kingdom of God in a hyper-politicized world.”

That means as we come into what will no doubt be a white hot national election season and as we stand up for racial reconciliation, the sanctity of human life, social justice, and sexual integrity that we do so in a way that adorns the gospel, with gospel civility. Remember, we exist to see a greater worship of Jesus through declaring and displaying the gospel.